Fiber producing apparatus



July 27, 1943. w. E NEFF l P IBER PRoDucING APPARATUS Filed June 15, 1941 n Off m md N. A Q@ o S, 4/ Q w w Patented July 27, 1943 FIBER. PRODUCING APPARATUS William E. Nei, Richmond, Va., assignor to ETI. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application June 13, 1941, Serial No. 397,885

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a ber producing apparatus, and more particularly it relates to an improved construction of fiber blanket disintegrating apparatus which is suitable for the disintegration of a moist, compact, felt-like blanket of fibers into individual fibers and fiuffy open bunches offibers which can be readily dried. The invention has particular utility in the production of rayon staple.

In the production of rayon staple it is frequently desirable to subject the staple to treatment with liquids. Regenerated cellulose staple produced by the viscose process is usually subjected to treatment with Washing, desulfuring and bleaching liquids. These treatments are very advantageously performed by spreading the staple in the form of a blanket on` a perforated conveyor belt and passing the beltl under successive sprinkling or spraying stations. The staple is thereby matted down to form a compact felt-like blanket. accentuated as a result of the use of squeeze rollerspositioned between liquid treating stations. Before the staple can be satisfactorily dried, this blanket must be disintegrated into the individual constituent fibers, or small bunchesof such fibers.

Similarly, other fibers, natural and artificial, are subjected to liquid treatment with the resultant formation of a moist, compact, felted blanket which must be broken up into small bunches of individual fibers before the latter can be uniformly and efficiently dried.

It is an object of the present invention to efficiently and uniformly disintegrate a moist, compact, matted blanket of fibers into small loose bunches of fibers without objectionably entangling the latter with each other and without deteriorating or degrading the quality of the fibers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a suitable apparatus for disintegrating a moist, compact, matted' blanket of fibers into small loose bunches of fibers.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The objects'of the invention will be accomplished by the use of a fiber blanket disintegrator constructed, in general, as hereinafter described.

The construction of the blanket disintegrator of the present invention will be clearly apparent by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying illustrations, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, with part vshown in section, of a blanket disintegrator con- The compactness of the blanket isstructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the driving mechanism for a portion of the disintegrator apparatus. l

The illustrations show a preferred form of construction, it being obvious, of course, that many the moist, compact blanket of staple bers 4 on to the slat conveyor I2. The slat conveyor comprises an endless belt moving about rotating rollers I4 and I6. From the slat conveyor, the blanket 4 moves on to the endless belt conveyor I8 which is driven by means of rollers 2 and 22. The apparatus is provided With means for feeding the blanket to a disintegrating'device while held 1n a clamped position adjacent the disintegrator mechanism. The means for feeding the blanket into the disintegrator comprises the endless belt I8 and the auxiliary belt 3D. A support frame 24 is adapted to position auxiliary belt 3D in such a Way as to clamp the blanket between belts I8 and closely adjacent a toothed disintegrator belt 40. The frame 24 is pivoted on an axis 2B spaced from the disintegrator belt 40.

A roller 2'I is mounted on the end of the support frame 24 and is adapted to rest on the blanket 4 closely adjacent the point where the blanket is contacted by the disintegr'ating belt 40.

' A second roller 28 ispositioned on the frame 24 at a point spaced from the blanket 4. By this construction any brous masses which would otherwise have a tendency to Wrap about roller 21 are caused to travel upwardly in contact with belt 30 from which they will either drop back to be caught by the disintegrator belt 40 or will move with the belt 30 about roller 28 and fall back to the blanket 4. The rollers 2l and 28 and the belt 30 may be made freely rotatable so that they Will be driven by contact with the moving blanket i on the moving belt I8. The frame 2N together with the roller and belt mechanism is pivoted at 26 so that this unit will adjust itself to the thickness of the blanket v4. The shaft of roller 28 will move Within arcuate slot 32.

The rollers 21 and 28 and the belt 30 may, if desired, be driven in a positive manner by means of belts and pulleys positioned on the outside of the housing 25.- A pulley 35 may be mounted on the shaft of roller I6 and a second pulley 34 mounted on the pivot shaft 26. A belt 36 is positioned about pulleys 34 and 35. Another pulley 31 is positioned on the end of the shaft of roller 28, and a belt 38 may then be positioned about pulleys31 and 34. This is illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing. e A

The pivot shaft 26 is xed while the apparatus is in operation; however, this shaft may be made adjustable within arcuate slot 33 whereby to permit the disintegration of blankets composed of different lengths of staple bers. The disintegrator belt 40 is provided with a large plurality 'of fine teeth or pins 42. These teeth pass closely adjacent to the line between belts I8 and 30. .Individual fibers, and .small bunches of such fibers, are plucked from the end of the blanket by the teeth or pins 42 and carried upwardly in the direction of the arrow. A comb 46, comprising a plurality of small teeth 48, is positioned closely adjacent the teeth 42 of the disintegrator belt 40 to prevent the carrying of large portions of bers by the disintegrator teeth 42. A baffle 44 may be positioned between comb 46 and roller 28 to, prevent bunches of bers which are combed down by the comb 46 from falling behind tractor belt 30. The belt 40 is driven about rollers 50, 52 and 54. Between rollers 52 andv 54 the fibers are removed from the disintegrator teeth 42 by means of a dolng roll 56 provided with a brushing surface. The small individual bers and b'unches of bers brushed from the disintegrator belt 40 fall through the chute 58 into the conveying truck 60 with which they may be removed to a suitable drying apparatus.

The distance between the belts I8 and 30 as they pass about rolls 22 and 21 is determined by the thickness of the staple blanket, the roller 21 rising with the added thickness of the blanket. The belts I8 and 30 are preferably composed of rubber-coated fabric since the small fibers, such as staple bers, are less adherent to this type of fabric than to a slat conveyor.

In the operationfof the apparatus, the speed of the disintegrator belt 40 is so regulated, relative to the speed of movement of the ber blanket 4, as to tear apartand carry away the staple fiber from the blanket as rapidly as the blanket is fed through the nip between the belts I8 and 30. The fiber blanket 4 may, for example, be moved at a linear speed of from 40 to 44 inches per minute. The disintegrator belt 40 will, under these conditions, Epreferably be moved ata linear speed of the order of 900 inches per minute. As

Since it is obvious that many changes and modifications can be made in the details of the apparatus above described, Without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the particular details described herein except as set forth in the appended claims.

1. An apparatus suitablev for disintegrating a moist, compact, matted blanket of bers into loose bunches of bers, which comprises conveyor means for moving said blanket endwise against an upwardly moving toothed disintegrating element, a support frame pivoted on an axis spaced from said element, a roller on the end of said frame, said roller positioned to rest on said moving blanket closely adjacent to said element, a second roller on said frame spaced above said blanket, and a belt positioned about said rollers to rotate therewith, said belt adapted to aid in maintaining the loose bunches of`fibers in contact with said element and -to return excess bunches of bers to said matted blanket.

2, An apparatus suitable for disintegrating a moist, compact, matted blanket of bers into loose bunches of fibers, which comprises conveyor means for moving said blanket endwise against an upwardly moving toothed disintegrating element, a support frame pivoted on an axis spaced from said element, a roller on the end of said frame, said roller positioned to rest on said moving blanket closely' adjacent to said element, a second roller on said frame spaced above said blanket, a belt positioned about said rollers to rotate therewith, said belt adapted to aid in maintaining the loose bunches of fibers in contact with said element and toreturn excess bunches of fibers to said matted blanket, and means for imparting a positive drive to said rollers.

WILLIAM E. NEFF. 

